MONTREAL - It was an intense week at the Bouchard household as daughter Eugenie worked her way to the Australian Open semifinals. Rhett Ellison Jersey . "We were yelling like idiots," Mike Bouchard, the players father, said Thursday of his daughters stirring win over Ana Ivanovic in the quarter-finals, which made her the first Canadian to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament since Carling Bassett-Seguso in 1984. It wasnt quite as frenzied at their Westmount, Que., home two nights later, when Bouchard bowed out with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to fourth-seeded Li Na of China in the semis. "It was also exciting, but in the first set Li Na came out strong and Genie was a little nervous," he said. "I felt for her, but she came back well in the second set. Overall, it was an excellent tournament." Bouchard stole the show in Melbourne, where a dozen or so local fans formed Genies Army to cheer her on and toss her stuffed Australian animals after her wins. Several commentators spoke of Bouchard, the 2012 Wimbledon junior girls champion, being the next big thing in womens tennis and a potential future Grand Slam tournament winner. Already, her results are expected to move her from 31st into the top 20 in next weeks rankings. And it has stirred ticket sales for her next appearance on home turf. She will play for Canada against Serbia Feb. 8-9 in a Federation Cup tie at the Claude Robillard Centre in Montreal. Eugene Lapierre of Tennis Canada, tournament director for the Montreal half of the Rogers Cup, said 500 to 600 tickets per day have been sold since Bouchards win over Ivanovic. The 4,000-seat venue will likely be sold out. And ticket sales have picked up for the womens Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium next summer, which is rare in January. "It will drag a lot of people out to come and watch her play," said Lapierre. "It will be interesting to see how she makes the switch from a Grand Slam and playing in a 20,000 seat stadium to the Claude Robillard here with 4,000. But it will be a lot of fun." Canadian tennis has been on a high lately with Milos Raonics rise into the top 10 in the world on the mens side and Vasek Pospisil also climbing in the rankings. Both made the Rogers Cup semifinals in Montreal last summer and led the Davis Cup team to a first-ever semifinal appearance. "Its phenomenal what Eugenie has done," said Lapierre. "I wouldnt say she opened the gates for Canada. The boys started that last year. "But its a new era thats started with the sport of tennis in Canada. Itll be tremendous for the promotion of the game in Canada. Thats our goal at Tennis Canada — to get more kids playing the game. Everyones talking about Eugenie, and thats bound to be good for the sport." Louis Borfiga, Tennis Canadas high performance director, said Bouchard could have a similar impact to Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian who drew slews of girls to try gymnastics after her stunning performance at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Or the effect that Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova had on womens tennis in Russia. "It will enlarge the pool of players and that will produce more very good players," said Borfiga. "Thats the difference between Canada and countries like France and Spain — their pool of players is larger." Mike Bouchard, an investment banker, is fine with having a daughter who may be seen as a role model for young players. He doesnt even mind that she is quickly becoming a celebrity. "Its good for her," he said. "Shes put in so much work and effort. "If she can be an ambassador for tennis and help tennis grow in Canada, thats fantastic. If it becomes bigger than that — international stardom — good for her. She has a strong head. Shes well grounded, and I think shell be able to go through that unscathed." Mike Bouchard knew he had a special daughter when Eugenie was a young child. When she was 12, the family the moved to Florida so she could learn at an academy run by Nick Saviano, who remains her coach. She spent more than three years in Florida before returning to Montreal to work at the national tennis centre. "It was difficult to find players at her own level to play against, and we also wanted to expose her to international coaching," said Mike Bouchard. "It takes a lot of dedication. Everyone in the family chipped in." Eugenie has a fraternal twin sister Beatrice, an 18-year-old sister Charlotte and a 14-year-old brother William, so the move was a big commitment for all of them. It paid off when Bouchard became one of the worlds top junior players and then made a rapid rise in WTA rankings. The group cant go to every tournament and they elected not to go to Australia, where Eugenie lost in the qualifying tournament last year. But her father said he was tempted to jump on a plane when she reached the semifinals. "We never anticipated shed go this far in the first Grand Slam of the year, so we gathered the kids and some friends and we watched (on TV)," he said. "There was a lot of emotions when she was hitting some winners. We were screaming and laughing and encouraging her." He was a little taken aback at a bizarre question put to Eugenie by an on-court interviewer after the quarter-final. She was asked who shed most like to date. To the apparent displeasure of Genies Army, she named Canadian pop star Justin Bieber. "Youve got to get used to that if youre going to become a celebrity," Bouchard said. "I actually thought she answered pretty well. She said Justin Bieber with a question mark at the end. It was tongue in cheek." It became a little awkward when Bieber was arrested in Florida on Thursday for reportedly taking part in an early morning drag race. "I actually dont follow anything that goes on in his life," Bouchard said with a laugh. "But I did hear about that." Ereck Flowers Jersey . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Michael Strahan Jersey . The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when - after nearly two years - federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black-Jonathan-Casillas-Giants-Jersey.html?cat=887 . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies.(SportsNetwork.com) - Just when you start to believe in the Oakland Raiders, they give reason not to. Of course, the reality is that the Raiders 2014 season was a lost cause long before their visit to Kansas City last weekend. But when they got within just four points in the third quarter - after having won two of three games coming in - there was at least some reason for middling optimism. Less than five minutes later, though, those positive thoughts were a distant memory. Three Chiefs touchdowns in a stretch of 4 minutes, 42 seconds - including one after a fumbled snap by quarterback Derek Carr -- started the death spiral toward an eventual 31-13 loss, which plunged the Raiders to 2-12 on the season as they head into a Week 16 home game with the Buffalo Bills. Oakland had 10 penalties in the defeat, and its 103 infractions for the season are eighth in the league. You cant do those kind of things in any football game, Raiders interim coach Tony Sparano said. But you certainly cant do those things when youre on the road and in an environment like that, and kind of feed their ego with false starts and with penalties and then turn it into a game that you have to throw the football as much as we had to throw the ball with that kind of pass rush. Carr completed less than half of his 56 passes against Kansas City, while totaling 222 yards and connecting for a touchdown alongside four sacks. Hes been slightly better at home in his rookie season, including 10 TDs and just three interceptions in his last five games at the O.co Coliseum. The Bills havent won a game in Oakland since 1966 and havent beaten the Raiders franchise on the road since a victory in Los Angeles in 1991. That theme continues for Buffalo overall, as it strives to end a postseason drought - the longest in the league -- that stretches back 15 years to 1999. A 21-13 win over visiting Green Bay last week ensured that the Bills would finish at .500 for the first time since they went 9-7 in 2004. Jumping from respectability to the playoffs, however, will take a little more. Buffalo is last among the nine AFC teams whove registered eight or more wins - thanks to a 4-6 in-conference record and losses to fellow 8-6 teams Kansas City and San Diego. A berth would not only require a win in Oakland, but a follow-up victory at New England, where it is 0 for its last 13 efforts. The defeat of the Packers saw Buffalo snuff the offensive of the most-prolific scoring team in the league and prompt a career-high 25 incompletions, a career-worst 34.3 passer rating and two interceptions from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Bills havent allowed a passing TD in six of its last seven games and its pass defense - which yielded 210.1 yards per week - is No. 5 in the league. Mark Bavaro Jersey. The Green Bay win came a week after a loss to Denver in which Buffalo gave Peyton Manning a forgettable stat line that included 14 completions, two interceptions, 173 yards and no touchdowns. We have to obviously continue to play like that but once we do that, now the mark is set, cornerback Corey Graham said. Now you got to expect that every week from everybody and thats what we got to do. Weve got to make sure were locked in and ready to go every week. The offense could certainly use the same swagger. The Bills got four field goals, a safety and a punt return touchdown against the Packers, which didnt help the 31st-best ratio of touchdowns (20) to red- zone possessions (49). Quarterback Kyle Orton completed 14-of-27 passes for 158 yards and an interception, alongside three sacks. No wide receiver or tight end caught more than two passes. Weve got to do a better job, Buffalo coach Doug Marrone said. Weve got to protect better, got to run routes better, weve got to get a better rhythm. A boost could arrive in the form of running back C.J. Spiller, who broke his collarbone in Week 7 and hasnt played since. Hes second among all running backs since 2010 with a 5.0-yard average per carry, and is listed as probable against the Raiders. Hes a guy whos made plays in the past, Marrone said. Any time you can bring back someone whos a potential playmaker obviously helps. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Crash the Carr The Bills enter the game with 49 sacks and theyll face an opponent in the Raiders whos not exactly erected fortress-like walls around Carr all year, and allowed four sacks in last weeks loss to Kansas City. Thus, itll be incumbent upon Oaklands Latavius Murray, who had 59 yards against the Chiefs, to be effective enough to draw containment attention from Buffalo ends Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes. Sling it to Sammy A common denominator in Buffalos six losses this season has been the limited production of Sammy Watkins, whos scored just one TD and exceeded 100 yards in one game as well. Raiders cornerback Tarell Brown has surrendered just one TD among the 42 passes completed in his direction in 2014, and help from veteran safety Charles Woodson should keep the game from becoming a Watkins showcase. OVERALL ANALYSIS OK, Coach Marrone, its your move. The Bills have gone from long-term laughingstock to having the dreaded trap game label hung on them. Its incumbent on the second-year boss to make sure his team handles the cross- country trip to meet an inferior foe, on the Sunday prior to a visit to the perennial AFC East powerhouse that could be the final obstacle to a January return. Score one for preparation. Sports Network predicted outcome: Bills 24, Raiders 20 Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '